Looks like the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve is about 35 miles from the Dubai Mall, an easy drive along E66. (Note: The Al Maha Desert Resort & Spa is somewhere contained in the Desert Conservation Reserve, just as a point of reference)

...looks like I guessed right on the desert location... who says you can't tell one sand dune from another...

It may be obvious to y'all but let me say it for the record... this looks to be the Netherlands pitstop confessional (based on the species of tree behind Ken & Barbie Meghan and Cheyne). ..or is it Sweden, or Estonia, or Prague...

It was nice to see the Burj Dubai. Too bad there was no bungee-jumping, since the building was under construction.

The water task was intriguing. The detour was meh. Of course, quite a few times waste their time with the "find a needle in the haystack" option. On the other hand, the judges this season are way too generous. Interesting to see the snow in the desert though.

The fast forward was useless (and too easy). One a season? You should just get rid of it altogether. Would have been interesting to see Meghan and Cheyne racing this episode.

The self-driving made this episode so much more interesting by shuffling the order. Also liked the interaction in this episode. That made this episode the best so far this season. It gets a 9 out of 10.

It was nice to see the Burj Dubai. Too bad there was no bungee-jumping, since the building was under construction.

The water task was intriguing. The detour was meh. Of course, quite a few times waste their time with the "find a needle in the haystack" option. On the other hand, the judges this season are way too generous. Interesting to see the snow in the desert though.

The fast forward was useless (and too easy). One a season? You should just get rid of it altogether. Would have been interesting to see Meghan and Cheyne racing this episode.

The self-driving made this episode so much more interesting by shuffling the order. Also liked the interaction in this episode. That made this episode the best so far this season. It gets a 9 out of 10.

This was the best episode so far, indeed! But I'm VERY discouraged by the "once a season" Fast Forward. What is the point? Bring it to at least 3 a season! And we all know that we need self-driving back! Navigation skill is an important part of the race.

The tasks this season are also way too stereotypical of the countries they visit. I'm not learning anything new about the countries by watching this. It has become too much about cheap entertainment rather than enlightenment.

Logged

"The authority of example and considerations of character, unlike pudding, are not whipped up in an instant." - Neal A. Maxwell

I thought the Fast Forward was dumb, all Meghan had to do was stand there and worry about being out of control in her own mind. . How many FF have we had where only 1 team member had to perform a task?

I thought the Fast Forward was dumb, all Meghan had to do was stand there and worry about being out of control in her own mind. . How many FF have we had where only 1 team member had to perform a task?

I thought the Fast Forward was dumb, all Meghan had to do was stand there and worry about being out of control in her own mind. . How many FF have we had where only 1 team member had to perform a task?

I thought the Fast Forward was dumb, all Meghan had to do was stand there and worry about being out of control in her own mind. . How many FF have we had where only 1 team member had to perform a task?

I thought the Fast Forward was dumb, all Meghan had to do was stand there and worry about being out of control in her own mind. . How many FF have we had where only 1 team member had to perform a task?

Uchenna/Joyce?

Well that doesn't count but good one! >> = Joyce

Flo/Zach? They had to get the attention of the surfer, and all Flo did was pout at the riverbank.

Meghan and Cheyne - This is certainly the team to beat, they're just whizzing through the race all the time! I'm really happy that they're still doing well and working so well together. I'm starting to really love this team! But I thought that the Fast Forward was really lame, they should have asked for both team members to complete the race. Hmm.

Brian and Ericka - This was a great leg ran for them! They seem to have such good luck, finding the little snowman so quickly and all. Perhaps it's really karma, seeing that Brian's always so nice to everyone, and I just love that. Love how they're so in love with each other too. Let the good karma and love continue!

Flight Time and Big Easy - I didn't get much from them this episode, other than the fact that it was nice of them to tell Mika and Canaan how cold it was in the ski building, preparing them for the cold. They're still doing well.

Gary and Matt - Honestly, I wouldn't have expected this team to be working so well together, and doing so well on the race. They're one of the teams that has been really consistent ever since the second leg. It was impressive how they were near the back of the pack initially, but made up so much time.

Sam and Dan - Nice guys, love how they're always wanting to help Maria and Tiffany, even waited for their replacement car to arrive.

Maria and Tiffany - You've just gotta love these girls. Shrewd they might be, liars they might be, but they certainly aren't bad people. It was sweet of Tiffany to offer to let Sam/Dan use her ladle. That was really nice, she'd have had to wait for him, costing some time. And this isn't the type of behaviour we would expect from a team of liars I guess. But then again, they've only lied about their profession, otherwise they're still pretty nice girls to me. =)

Mika and Canaan - I thought that this team would be able to pick themselves up and do much better in the legs to come since episode 1 but till now, they're still hovering at the back so... Yeah, it won't be surprising if they're gone soon.

Lance and Keri - I actually thought that Lance wasn't all too annoying this episode. In fact, he was really nice at the pit-stop, even though they were last. I'd have expected some kind of meltdown and tremendous blaming placed on Keri but he took it very well and for once, I can say that I'm alright with this team, but I'm still not too sad to have them gone.

And we're now down to seven. It's getting evident that there are 5 more dominant teams, and 2 that will never do that well no matter how hard they try. Hmm. The all-male teams are really rocking this season aren't they. Anyway, here's my current ranking of teams:

1. Brian and Ericka2. Meghan and Cheyne3. Maria and Tiffany4. Sam and Dan5. Mika and Canaan6. Gary and Matt7. Flight Time and Big Easy